Maurice f



No. 626,589. Patented June 6, I899. M. F. BUCHNER.

BUST PAD AND CHEST PROTECTOR.

(Application filed Oct. 11, 1898.)

(No Model.)

m: HIQVPFIIFFCTZRS co. mawufnd. WASHINGTON, n. c,

UNrrnn STATES- PATENT OFFICE.

MAURICE F. BUCHNER, OF NEW BRIGHTON, ENGLAND.

BUST-PAD AND CHEST-PROTECTO R.

V SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 626,589, dated June 6, 1899.

Application filed October 11, 1898. erial No. 693,259. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, MAURICE FREDERICK BUCHNER, gentleman, a resident of 2 Higher Parade, New Brighton, in the county of Chester, England, have invented new and useful Improvements in Bust-Imprvers and Chest- Protectors, (for which an application for patcut has been filed in Great Britain, dated March 15, 1898, No. 6,351,) of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

My invention relates to a bust-improver and chestprotector for ladies and others, and has mainly for its object to provide a light, cool, and easily-adjusted substitute for pads as a means of improving the figure of the wearer by imparting a natural appearance of fullness at the chest and preventing unsightly creases in the outer garment and a contracted or stooping appearance, especially in the case of flat-chested figures. The device is also eminently suitable for use as a chest-protector by persons having delicate organs of respiration.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, wherein Figure 1 represents a front view of the bust improver; and Fig. 2 shows, to an enlarged scale, a central vertical cross-section of the same on line 2 2, Fig. 1.

The device (which may be worn separately or be combined with a vest, bodice, corset, or other undergarment) is adapted to cover the region of the chest and is made, preferably, of a light, airy, and open fabricsuch, for instance, as fine horsehair cloth, sateen, muslin,or othergauze (including metallic gauze)- but it may be made of other material.

The improver is formed of an outer fabric a and a backing Z), shaped to suit the position which the improver is intended to occupy upon the chest and around the base of the neck of the wearer, the outer fabric a being out rather larger in depth than the backing b and the two being united or bound together at the edges, so that while the backing 1) lies comparatively fiat and fits close to the natural figure of the wearer an inflated or puffy form, whose fullness diminishes gradually from the center to the sides, is necessarily imparted to horn, steel, or other stiifeners used as substitutes forwhalebone in corsets and bodices. These stiffening-ribs are contained within sheaths of suitable fabric attached to the back of the outer fabric a, as indicated in Fig. 2,

and they extend from the top to the bottom edge of said fabric, and thus are constrained by the difference of dimensions of the two parts a and b to assume an outwardly-curved form and to hold the outer fabric corresp0ud ingly distended, as shown. 0 is secured to the backing b by stitching for a distance of about two inches from its upper end, as shown at 0 in order to impart the proper curved form to the lower part of said rib, as shown in Fig. 2. also be stiffened, if necessary, in the transverse direction by means of one or more flexible ribs, as d, of similar material to the ribs 0 and contained in a sheath or sheaths attachedto the inner surface of the backing b,

so as to extend from side to side thereof. By providing the upper fabric a with inextensible tapes or other means of maintaining the curvature of the stiffeners or by giving the stifieners a permanent set or curvature it would be possible to dispense with the backing 1), and such a bust-improver is comprised within the scope of this invention.

The device if combined with a bodice, corset, or other undergarment may be attached thereto in any way suited to the requirements of individual taste or special circumstances, and if worn as a separate article (which is the form more particularly illustrated in the drawings) may be secured in place by 0 material, although bands or tapes of silk, 5

sateen, orother suitable material may be used and would be fastened to the improver by means of hooks, buttons, clips, or buckles. The shoulder-straps instead of being fastened each by both ends to the same side of the im- 10o The center rib 65 The backing b may 70 prover may be crossed at back, each being carried (from its upper point of attachment) across the back and under the opposite arm and being made fast by a tab at i by means of a hook, button, clip, or buckle.

The device 'f intended to be worn for the protection of t e' chest in cold weather would preferably be lined with flannel or what is known as Jaeger material.

I claim- 1. A bust-improver and chest-protector for ladies and others consisting of front and back portions of porous or other fabric united at their edges and curved to fit around the front of the neck, the front portion being cut larger in depth than the back portion, light flexible ribs or stiifeners radiating from the neck curve and secured to the front portion, the

7 back portion being so much smaller than the front portion in the direction of the length of the ribs or stiffeners as to act as a tie therefor whereby the said ribs or stiffeners are constrained to assume a curved form so as to keep the front portion elastically distended,

the central rib or stiffener, for a portion of its length from the neck curvature downward being secured to the said back portion, the said upper portion of the rib being straight, a transverse stiffener secured to the lower part of the back portion and extending from side to side thereof, and means for securing the article in place on the wearer, substaniially as specified.

2. A bu st-iinprover and chest-protector for ladies and others, consisting of an outer fabric and a backing united at their edges and shaped to fit around the neck, flexible stiffening-ribs contained in sheaths secured to the back of the outer fabric, the said stiffening-ribs extending radially from the neck curve to the lower edge of the fabric, the said backing being of less depth than the outer fabric, thereby causing the ribs to assume an outwardly-curved f0r1n,the central stiffening rib for a portion of its length from the neck curvature downward, being secured to the 'said backing, whereby the proper curvature is given to the lower part of said rib, a transverse stifiener contained in a sheath attached to the inner surface of the lower portion of the backing and extending from side to side thereof, the article being provided with shoulder-straps, a neckband,and a central tab at its lower edge, for fastening the device in place, substantially as specified.

Signed by the said MAURICE FREDERICK BUCHNER this 22d day of September, 1898.

MAURICE F. BUCI-INER.

In presence of- HENRY FRANCIS,- T. N. LEIGHTON. 

